Agate grey windows ?

[Fordy72]

Hi I have just moved into a 1920’s semi. White rendered, replacing the windows and storm porch with casement flush style. Want to try and preserve the traditional look of the house. The internal front door is original and a colour is similar to agate grey. not sure what looks better -white windows with black facia soffit and storm porch door. Or agate grey windows and storm porch door. And of the latter - is agate grey facia and soffit better than black. Head mashed . Ant for the life of me get a visualiser tool to work either .

The problem is, it looks like the house is semi detached. So all the pictures of big detached rural houses don’t compare.

Having different colour windows to your attached neighbour/road will instantly make the design choice look cheaper, what colour do they have? I would still choose white and use planters and a nice front door to add colour and warmth.

Ultimately it’s your house, your choice. But I’d urge you to think about what’s classic and in keeping for the home/street you’re buying, and speed a good few months contemplating it as it’ll have a big impact on curb appeal.

The fascia is on the vertical the soffit attaches to that on the horizontal back to the wall

So you’re seeing the fascia

I’d go for the agate green, will look lovely and white frames on white render can be really clashing.
id also go for black fascia because black is a recessive colour and you won’t really notice it where as agate grey will come to the front and draw your eye

I like the green of your internal door more than the agate grey

These look good in my view. It’s a very traditional look for this type of house. White is very boring! I like a lighter door though.

White. It won’t date.

In many ways I think white can look dated. Even brand new expensive slim framed white windows can look like they haven't been updated since the 80s, especially when they blend into white render or are paired with a white or 'timeless' front door colour (racing green, red, navy, black etc).

I think black on white is very traditional though. It needs softening by a front door that’s a more muted shade and some planting!

I agree that black windows against white looks nice, but in my view only when the overall effect mimics those old metal windows that made the house look streamlined like a ship (Deco style). Not sure about modern windows. Those images you shared, the ones on the left and top right look lovely but not sure about the bottom right one! OP's windows are more traditional (leaded).

@Beachtastic The OPs windows are quite tall for a not very big house. The door looks totally lost and not inviting. It’s not an easy house to find the right colours. The other option is not have the house white. The house looks a slightly grubby white at the moment so maybe change the render colour?

I was voting earlier for a sort of greyish green...! 😊

I think a muted stone colour from Farrow and Ball or something like Mizzle. It’s a house where the windows need to be a focus because they are attractive. If kept white they need a background colour but not a vibrant one. Also look at the road - what else looks good?

I've got for white with black guttering on my mid century bungalow although I do like the look of that green/grey.

I went for black guttering because it weathers better. The ex owner replaced it with brown to fit in with the brown windows and it was flaking and depressing

Thank you everyone for all your pointers and thoughts. It’s made me pause . I really want to get this right so I’m going to keep looking around and thinking on style and colour to honour the 1920’s era it was built in.

Your door colour looks nearer to’Pebble Grey’ which could also be a consideration? I’m currently torn between pebble grey and agate grey for my new door 🙄

RAL pebble grey is the one with a greenish hue. This would look lovely on the frames and door and is a very traditional look. It’s very soft and a much better option white imo.
RAL Agate is very grey and the mid grey that you do not want. Anthracite is the dark grey and agree with op that this look is already dated.

A good tip - take a photo of your house and ask ChatGPT to change the frames to ‘RAL pebble grey’ and you will get a great idea of what it will look like. You can try various colours to compare!

I'm a big fan of Art Deco & envy you your lovely house. You are so lucky that previous owners have preserved the stained glass.

Whatever you decide, you can always change it in the future. Enjoy your new home. I wouldn't be surprised if you have some nice woodblock floors there.

Agree. Utterly awful.

My neighbour has pebble grey doors and windows, they look lovely. I’ve just been out for a walk looking at everyone’s doors to help me choose. I’d describe both agate and pebble as having green hues with agate being a cool hue and pebble being warm. I don’t think you could go wrong with either of these.

Good choice - we have just had agate grey installed and love it!

thanks for the suggestion about using AI - I’ve been trying that out. I am now starting to think about crittal style windows as they are slimmer and possibly more in keeping with the age. Still stuck with the colour . Although when I put it through AI black crittal style looks really good the other colours don’t show so well via AI

I'm no expert, OP, so please take everything I say with a big pinch of salt! and I love Crittall windows, but I'm not sure if your house is Art Deco enough for them to be in keeping with that streamlined semi-industrial modern look. Based on the lead panes (are those the original windows?) and shape of them, to me it looks more traditional, with a nod towards cottage revival/Arts & Crafts. Hoping someone with more expertise will comment!